NY, I'm here!

So after saying goodbye to Ryan and having my mom take me to the airport, my journey began. I had a lot that needed to go right, so I was a little worried about it all. Somewhere between Portland and Newark airport I had to find an Bank of America ATM, pray that it would let me take out $500 so I could pay my first weeks rent and deposit upon arrival (a lot of times your limit is 200 per day at the ATM) so I was very stressed about that. The flight from PDX to Seattle was quick and fortunately the gate for my departure for Newark was just a few gates down as my back pack was like a brick. Or fifty bricks more likely. Anyway, there was not B of A in Seattle and no outlets to plug in my cell phone or portable DVD player. Uggg. But the flight was on time and I started my book, it's one of James Patterson's Alex Cross Thrillers. I've been on a Cross kick lately. I'm almost up to date in the series. Back to the story. So my flight from Seattle was uneventful. There were pulled beef sandwiches, sadly better then the OC ones, oh and they served them with carrots and a chocolate macaroon. I thought airplane food was supposed to be inedible. The five hours went pretty fast I was able to get some sleep and watch CSI on my laptop and read more of my book. I got into Newark at 8:45 and found a B of A seconds after getting off the plane. Now for those of you unfamiliar with the NY area. Newark airport is actually in New Jersey, but is the closest of the three area airports (La Guardia and JFK). All of them have a mandatory $45 cab fare from the airport to anywhere in Manhattan (which will from this point on just referred to as The City, I love you Heather) plus toll bridge tolls and tip. Yuck! So I always take the New Jersey train to Penn Station, for 14 bucks. Now Penn Station is in the middle of The City and is basically like an underground neighborhood. It has the New Jersey trains (the Path), the Long Island trains, Amtrak trains headed everywhere on the east coast and The City's subway all running in and out of Penn station. You could wander around for hours. There are bookstores and more shops and restaurants then any airport. I went outside and got a cab (one of the few cabs I'll be taking while here) because I didn't want to cart my luggage on the subway and then walk the blocks to the boarding house. I should have grabbed a different cab. I didn't know the cross streets, just the address which is on the East side in the Lower East Side, and next thing I know were on 3rd st (my street) on the west side. I kept telling the Cab driver we were going the wrong way and he's like no this is the east side and I'm like that's not what the signs say. Finally, he gets so far into Westside he had to admit he was wrong, he goes "now were in West side and I haven't seen the address so we have to go back". I wanted to scream considering I had told him three times we were going the wrong way. So I called the house and found out the cross streets and paid the stupid cab driver. I hate when they think just because you have an address and not an exact cross street you don't know your way around The City and therefore you can literally be taken for a ride. I pulled up to the building and was let into my room. It's dinky. Probably 6 x 9 tops, it's like a kinda wide hallway with a futon, desk, mini fridge, mini tv, sink and a closet. But for now it's perfect. I called my mom to let her know I was safe and then unpacked. It took like three minutes. Then I went out to find some dinner, it was 11:30 local time. The streets were packed. It was a lot mellower in the LES (lower east side) where I'm living then around Penn station. It's hard to explain if you've never seen it, I guess you just have to come visit me and see for yourself what it's like on a Friday night. I walked about five or six blocks and decided on the Cozy Burger and Soup place. Open 24 7 and just what I was looking for. I had a really yummy philly cheese steak with curly fries. I barely had half, so that will be lunch today. I wasn't tired, but I walked back to the house anyway. I tried my dad again, and then proceed to watch Sex and the City episodes until 4 am local time. I think it's going to take me a few days to get used to the time change. I'm not quite sure what I have planned for today, probably a lot of getting the basics lined up. I do want to go out tonight and not by myself, so hmm, I'll have to figure something out. However, it currently 74 and sunny, so I think whatever I do will be good. Hmmm, so much to do!